Harold Geneen quotes

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. (Harold Geneen)
Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned. View quote
Harold Geneen
The best way to inspire people to superior performance is to convince them by everything you do and by your everyday attitude that you are wholeheartedly supporting them. View quote
Harold Geneen
Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions. View quote
Harold Geneen
You can't run a business or anything else on a theory. View quote
Harold Geneen
It's better to take over and build upon an existing business than to start a new one. View quote
Harold Geneen
Every company has two organizational structures: The formal one is written on the charts; the other is the everyday relationship of the men and women in the organization. View quote
Harold Geneen
Management manages by making decisions and by seeing that those decisions are implemented. View quote
Harold Geneen
Managers in all too many American companies do not achieve the desired results because nobody makes them do it. View quote
Harold Geneen
Facts from paper are not the same as facts from people. The reliability of the people giving you the facts is as important as the facts themselves. View quote
Harold Geneen
Uncertainty will always be part of the taking charge process. (Harold Geneen)
You can know a person by the kind of desk he keeps. If the president of a company has a clean desk then it must be the executive vice president who is doing all the work. View quote
Harold Geneen
Management must manage! View quote
Harold Geneen
We must not be hampered by yesterday's myths in concentrating on today's needs. View quote
Harold Geneen
He suffered from paralysis by analysis. View quote
Harold Geneen
A true leader has to have a genuine open-door policy so that his people are not afraid to approach him for any reason. View quote
Harold Geneen
Performance stands out like a ton of diamonds. Nonperformance can always be explained away. View quote
Harold Geneen
I think it is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises - but only performance is reality. View quote
Harold Geneen
It is much more difficult to measure nonperformance than performance. View quote
Harold Geneen
If your desk isn't cluttered, you probably aren't doing your job. View quote
Harold Geneen
It is much more difficult to measure non-performance than performance. Performance stands out like a ton of diamonds. Non-performance can almost always be explained away. (Harold Geneen)
Do you want my one-word secret of happiness -- It's growth -- mental, financial, you name it. View quote
Harold Geneen
In a good meeting there is a momentum that comes from the spontaneous exchange of fresh ideas and produces extraordinary results. That momentum depends on the freedom permitted the participants. View quote
Harold Geneen
I don't believe in just ordering people to do things. You have to sort of grab an oar and row with them. My philosophy is to stay as close as possible to what's happening. If I can't solve something, how the hell can I expect my managers to? View quote
Harold Geneen
I'd hate to spend the rest of my life trying to outwit an eighteen-inch fish. View quote
Harold Geneen